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"Live in Hannover": Treibhaus Treibhaus has come a long way since they formed in 2005, releasing 3 full length albums and now their first live album, recorded in their home city of Hannover on a whim. They probably didn't know this would become not only one of my favourite albums of 2009, but one of my most recommended as well. It all started with a promo concert for The band's third full length album, Alarmstufe Rot. They played at a local venue in Hannover and basically Curt decided on a whim to set up the recording equipment they had with them, so the CD wasn't even planned, and that is a good thing because you feel as if you are in that club throughout, as a member of the audience. "Adrenalin" opens with Johnny Cash's "Man In Black", before fading into a dark and industrial themed electronic beat before the crowd starts cheering and all hell breaks loose as the music just explodes into "Aus dem Weg". The first thing I noticed is how clean the guitars and drums sound, not to mention frontman Curt Doernberg's voice. I can hear EVERY single word he is saying. Sometimes, if German is not the language you use in your daily life, it's hard to pick out certain words or hear pronunciations, but here I had no problem hearing exactly what he was saying. His voice is crystal clear, filled with energy and power. I'll get more into that later, but needless to say, I was very impressed. "Aus dem Weg" had my heart pumping double time. Nothing beats the first time you throw it in to your CD player and just get blasted by it! I'll never forget it. There is a small bit of mic feedback at one point during the song, but to me it only adds to the authenticity of the album and makes the listener feel more a part of it. I would like to talk more about Curt's voice now. First, I had never actually heard him talk casually up until this point, where he starts chatting with the crowd (something he does on and off through the CD), but he almost has a 'boyish' and youthful sounding voice, something I did not expect from an Industrial singer who sounds like he downed a bucket of nails for breakfast! I say this because his voice is really what you would expect for this type of music: aggressive, rough, throaty and LOUD, but hearing him talk casually really surprised me, an added bonus! Another thing that is apparent is his ability to control pitch and tone. During the next two songs "Wahnsinn" and "Rache ist Suess" you can hear the pitch and tone change as he switches on a dime from the chorus back to the regular lines. This is really apparent in "Rache ist Suess" where he sounds like a freaking demon screaming the chorus, but if you listen closely you can actually hear him change the pitch from a raging and shrill scream to a controlled deep voice in an instant. I was seriously amazed, and through all this, it's still very, very controlled and clear. I also noticed that the crowd picks up on his intensity during "Rache ist Suess" and his demon delivery of the chorus and breaks open in cheers and applauds. They are clearly fired up and appreciative of his efforts and it really creates a great atmosphere for the following songs. "Das Leacheln", "Hass" and "Feindbild" follow and the common theme for the next 6 tracks is a slower one then right away a faster one after it. It's a very up, down, up, down pattern and it works really well. Some people get bored or annoyed if it's just a bunch of slow songs in a row, but I noticed here you don't have the chance to slow down because it just picks right back up again in an instant. Even on the slower songs the band manages to inject energy into the beats and Curt really stresses the words in a low, growly voice, it gives the listener more of a hard edge to listen to and I think it really works because my attention never once wavered. Near the end the band plays two of my favourite songs flat out, "Ich bin Perfeck" and "Maschinen" before leaving the stage. The crowd of course will have none of it and chants nonstop for nearly a minute to have them come back, which of course they do ;) The encore at the end consists of: "Alarmstufe Rot" and then flat out, balls to the wall again for "Kodex" and "Besser". The band really goes all out on the last two songs and you can tell the crowd appreciated the enthusiasm because they return it in kind as they band exits for good this time and the sounds dim. The first day I got this album in the mail I ended up listening to it 5 times in a row. I was already a fan of Treibhaus, but this album really impressed me, especially for one that was never even planned or thought out, it was just a spur of the moment thing, and taking that into account I was extremely satisfied with the final product. The bottom line is that if you are already a fan of Treibhaus, this will only serve to show you why you like them so much, and will probably have you planning a trip to Hannover to see them play live in the near future! If you are a new fan, and enjoy live albums, this will probably cement it for you or give you a new appreciation of what these guys are capable of. You can buy the album right from the band at: http://www.treibhaus-sound.de/ under the "Shop" section. They accept Paypal, and for only 12 Euro, it's an amazing bargain. The band will even sign it for you if you ask! And if you are worried about buying from overseas, don't be. Curt handles all the orders personally, he speaks great English and the shipping is very fast. I just made an order from the shop, myself which consisted of: the live CD, 2 shirts, Dog Tags, and Curt even threw in buttons and Treibhaus guitar pics for free! The whole package got to Canada in 4 business days via airmail and shipping was only 8 Euro for all of that (12 dollars Canadian). So if you are worried about ordering from Germany, don't be! I tried to find something negative to say in this review, but I honestly couldn't think of one thing, and I've probably listened to the album over 10 times by now. I suppose I wished it were longer, but that's hardly a complaint, and they do play a total of 14 songs, 15 if you count the intro and band entrance section of the Cd, and that is pretty impressive! It's not perfect, but it's damn good, and anyone with an appreciation of Industrial/Electronic music and who appreciates a good live gig will have no problem at all getting into this album whether you are already a Treibhaus fan or someone just listening for the first time. Final rating: 8.5/10 Buy this album! - Jochen Bobris, 7/09 Get it ONLY (& for a limited time) from:
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